How to Sell to Anyone

Let’s face it. We all have those difficult customers to whom we are required
to sell. From the demanding, abrasive buyer to the individual who never seems to
make a buying decision, we encounter challenging people on a regular basis. Part
of the reason this happens is due to the disconnect we have because of
conflicting personalities. This article will look at the four key types of
people and how to improve your results with each.

Direct Donna. Donna is very direct in her approach. She tends to be forceful
and always wants to dominate or control the sales call. Her behavior is
aggressive, she points at you while she talks, interrupts your to challenge you,
and she seldom cares about hearing the details of your new product or service.
Instead, she demands that you “cut to chase” and “tell me the bottom line.”
Donna is very results-focused and goal-oriented and hates wasting time.

To achieve the best sales results with this individual you need to be more
direct and assertive. Tell her at the beginning of the sales call or meeting
that you know how busy she is and how valuable her time is. Tell her that you
will “get right to the point” and focus your conversation on the results she
will achieve by using you product or service. Resist the temptation to back down
if she confronts you because you will lose her respect. To Donna, it is not
personal, it’s just business.

Lastly, be direct in asking for her business—you don’t have to dance around
this issue.

Talkative Tim. Tim is a gregarious and outgoing person but very ego-centric.
He is often late for your meetings and his constant interruptions and long
stories cause your sales calls to go beyond the scheduled time. He appears to be
more concerned with listening to himself talk which is frustrating because you
don’t always get enough time to discuss your solution.

Relationships are very important to Talkative Tim so invest more time in
social conversation. Even if you don’t see the point in this, he will appreciate
the gesture and will like you more. This person often makes buying decisions on
intuition and how he feels about the sales person.

Be careful not to challenge Tim because he will feel rejected and when this
happens he will “shut down” and become unresponsive. During your sales
presentation, tell him how good your solution will make him look to others in
the company or how his status or image will improve. In other words, appeal to
his ego.

Steady Eddie. Soft-spoken, Eddie is a “nice” fellow who seems more focused on
his team and coworkers than on his personal results. He is very quiet compared
to some of your other prospects and can be difficult to read. But most
frustrating is his reluctance to make a buying decision. Eddie’s mantra seems to
be “I’m still thinking about but thanks for following up.”

Structure and security is important to these people and it is difficult for
Eddie to make changes. He often contemplates how the decision will affect other
people within the organization. That means you need to slow down the sales
process, demonstrate how your solution will benefit the team, and remove as much
risk from the decision-making process as possible. Soften your voice and make
sure your sales presentation flows in a logical manner. Use words like “fair”
“logical” and “your team” in your presentation.

Analytical Alice. She reads every point and specification about your product
or service and regardless of how much information you give Alice, she always
wants more, including written guarantees and back up documentation. She is very
difficult to read and it is extremely difficult to get her engaged in an open
conversation because personal feelings and emotions do not enter the picture
when Alice makes a decision.

Whenever possible, give Alice a written, bullet-point agenda of your
meeting—beforehand. Ideally, email it to her a few days in advance so she can
prepare herself. Make sure it is completely free of typos, spelling mistakes and
punctuation errors. When you meet, follow the agenda in perfect order and if you
make any type of claim, have supporting documentation available for her to read.

While the approach to use with each of these people may not make sense to you
or seem completely rational, it is critical to recognize that how you naturally
and instinctively sell may not be the best way to get results with someone else.
Modifying your approach and style, even briefly, will help you better connect
with your customers and prospects which means you will generate better sales.

Kelley Robertson, author of The Secrets of Power Selling helps sales
professionals and businesses discover new techniques to improve their sales and
profits. Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing
to his free newsletter available at
www.kelleyrobertson.com. Kelley conducts workshops and speaks regularly at
sales meetings and conferences. For information on his programs contact him at
905-633-7750 or
Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.